We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
184 of its 358 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Crotone accounted for 110 of Italy's 184 stories about harm, carried by 486 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (113 stories). Drownings were named in 24 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with hypothermia. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
41 of its 60 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Khojaly accounted for 39 of Azerbaijan's 41 stories about harm, carried by 5 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
37 of its 51 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of abductions ran at about 5 times the usual rate (21 stories). Earthquake was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with tsunami.
52 of its 241 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (13 stories). Tsunami was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
54 of its 101 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Pulwama accounted for 30 of Kashmir's 54 stories about harm, carried by 27 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
61 of its 68 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Nablus accounted for 45 of Palestine's 61 stories about harm, carried by 41 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
185 of its 341 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Jerusalem accounted for 106 of Israel's 185 stories about harm, carried by 348 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
30 of its 94 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 11 of Colombo's 20 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories).
218 of its 516 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
15 of its 21 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories).
Also named far more than usual: drought in Kenya (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); bird flu in Cambodia (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); malaria in Mexico (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Canada (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heavy rain in US (52 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 26 Feb. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 7,261 stories about harm among 33,729 counted on 26 Feb.
No day had a higher share of stories about people being harmed since 2 January 2023. Stories about people being harmed made up 22 in every 100 of the day's 33,729 stories, above the usual 20. Italy's news was 51% about people being harmed, against a usual 14%. On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. Abductions were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Papua New Guinea and the US. This week the news turned most often to Cambodia, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 1 of them.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 22 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 stories.
Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.
The words in the day's stories were harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.